Improved leatheb-polishing machine



JOSEPH W. HILDRETH, OF BGSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters .Patent No. 76,914, dated April 21, 1868.

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To ALL To WHOM THESE vPmzsnlv'rs SHALL COME:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. HILDnErH, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Performing the Operation of Glassing Leather, as it is termed; and Ado hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making'part of this specification, and in which v Figure l'is a vertical, central, and longitudinal "section, and

Figure 2a vertical and transverse section-'ef a leather-glassing or polishing machine, with my'invention applied thereto.

Figure 3, a side elevation of a portion of the machine, showing the elastic bearing to be hereinafter described.

-This invention is an improvement in that class of machineswhich perform the operation of polishing or glassing leather, as itis termed, such machine consisting mainly-of a vibrating-arm or lever provided with a glassing or polishing-tool aixed to its lower end, and traversing a concave bed applied to an elastic or yielding foundation, the leatherto be polishedbeing placed upon such bed and operated upon by the polishingtool in a. manner well known to 'persons skilled in this branch of the industrial arts.

In the accompanying drawings, A denotesl a metallic bed, concave upon its upper surface, and resting upon and supported at each end by an elastic cushion or spring, a a, the bed thus vsupported being upheld bya suitableframework, applied to the iloor of an apartment or building in which the machine is situated.

` A vibrating-arm or lever, c, is suspended at its upper end from the armed of a gallows-frame, e, making part of the framework b before mentioned, thelower end of the armc being pivoted to I a'swivelling-block or .tool-holder, f, this tool-holder being in turn ailixed to the front end of a reciprocating connecting-rod, g,' whosc opposite end is jointed to'a crank or crank-wheel, h, fixed 'to a horizontal shaft, t', upheld by an upright standv y ard, j, fixed to the door of the apartment', a pulley, Ic, being applied to the shaft for putting it and thecrank A in rotation. A suitable yglassing-tool is allxed to c r carried bythe holderf.'

The rotationof the crank-wheel causes a reciprocating rectilinear of the.toolf,-aeross the surface of the bed A, and from end to end thereof, in orderto polish or glass a side of leather, when laid thereon.

The above-described arrangement f parts is'the usual con-struction of machines of this class, and does' not cover my invention. The objection to it is that a'sthe polishing-tool, approaches the centre of the bed A, the pressure upon the leather of course increases as the power' of both springsexerts its full action thereon.

As the polishing-tool rccedes in either direction from the centre ofthe bed, the pressure is exerted by one spring, and removed to a great extent from the opposite one, the consequence ofwhich is that the pressure upon the leather is unequally distributed, and the leather becomes distendedV or baggy and reduced in thickness in its central portion. i I i My invention is intended to obviate this objection by erpralizing"the distribution of pressure upon the finishing-bed and leather, and in carrying out such invention, I make the point of suspension' of the vibratingarm a an elastic one, in order to accomplish this.

The mode shown in the accompanying drawings for applying the elastic bearing, is composed as follows: The lever c is upheld by a lhorizontal cross-bar, l, which ex'tends laterally through its upper end, the outer ends of such cross-bar extending into guides or slots, m m, made through the side bars a a of the arm d, before mentioned, the lever c swinging between the two. A spring, n, composed'of India rubber, or other suitable material, is placed upon the top of each end of the cross-bar Z, and within the slots m m, as shown in g. 3 of the drawings.

A set-screw, o, is screwed through a cap-plate, p, applied to each bar a', and over and closing the slots m m, such set-screws pressing down upon a metallic plate, g, placedover the top of each spring nu, and serving to regulate pressure of such springs upon the cross-bar l. A Y y If considered necessary or desirable, metallic blocks, recessed for reception of the end ofthe springs n n,

may be interposed between the cross-bar Zand such springs, to retain them in place, the blocks being formed with splines or projections upon each, to slide in grooves made in the inner ffl-:es of the slots m m.

By employing a. machine constructed in accordance with my invention above described, the pressure, and. consequently the action and effect of the polishing-tool, are nearly the same upon all parts of the bed A, and the leather placed upon it, thus greatly improving the general appearance of the leather, and prodcing e uniform and even surface, and adding to its generl texture and wearing qualities, as Well as rendering it of n smooth, general surface, and facilitating the convenience of cutting it into shoes.

Having described my invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Potent, is

In a. machine such as described, the combination, with, the yielding bed upon which the leather is placed, of the vibratory lever towhich the glassing-tool holder is attached, provided at its point of suspension with an elastic and yielding bearing, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein shown and set forth.

J. W. HILDRETH.

Witnesses:

EDMUND H. HnwINs, EDWARD GRIFFITH. 

